Best Chef, Payton Curry

Chef Payton Curry, a Scottsdale restaurateur-turned-activist, specializes in creating therapeutic diets for medical cannabis patients. The Culinary Institute of America grad founded Flourish Cannabis Kitchen — an edibles company operating in Arizona, Nevada and California — that specializes in dessert-rich basics like honey, caramel, pudding and jam that can be added to many different meals. Balancing out Flourish’s sweets is Curry’s passion for deploying freshly juiced cannabis leaves, non-intoxicating cannabidiol, as well as the plant’s aromatic compounds called terpenes to complement his dishes at private dinners and pop-ups. In 2017, the Michelin-starred kitchen veteran opened the world’s first edibles community center in the Mission District featuring cooking classes and other events.